Blog
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past two seasons while Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer ranks first in points over the past six seasons.
Verlander earned 51.6 Box-Toppers points combined in 2018 and 2019 to lead all players in that span while Scherzer earned 134.3 points from 2014-2019, most in that span.
Read MoreIn 2019, CC Sabathia and Albert Pujols have tied Box-Toppers’ record for the longest streak of consecutive seasons earning at least one Player of the Game honor.
Both Sabathia and Pujols this season have earned Box-Toppers points for their 19th straight season (from 2001 to 2019). That ties the record held by Jason Giambi (1995 to 2013) and Carlos Beltran (1999 to 2017).
Read MoreRoyals pitcher Jason Hammel is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Sale struck out nine over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned), four hits and two walks, in the 4-2 win over the Rays.
Read MoreSadly, Jose Fernandez leads the list of players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2016 to 2017. The 22.4-point decline is 8.0 points more than the next biggest decline which was the highest among players active in 2017—that belongs to Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto, whose 2017 point total dipped 14.4 points, from 16.4 in 2016 to 2.0 in 2017.
Read More
Kendrys Morales of the Blue Jays is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Morales hit two homers and doubled, going 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 8-4 win over the Rays.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 6 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 |
National League Player of the Day—Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks hit two homers and went 3-for-3, driving in five runs, in the 6-3 win over the Rockies.
Goldschmidt earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 points for the season, most among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday. Goldschmidt ranks 19th among all players and second among NL batters, behind Bryce Harper of the Nationals (4.0 Box-Toppers points).
Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Friday because the overall Player of the Day was AL batter Kendrys Morales and the overall NL Player of the Day was NL batter Paul Goldschmidt.
Streaks—Three players extended streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after all three earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Scoring—Morales earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Goldschmidt earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 5/5 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | TOR 8, TB 4 | Kendrys Morales, DH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 7.0 | ARI 6, COL 3 | Paul Goldschmidt, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | STL 10, ATL 0 | Lance Lynn (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | CIN 13, SF 3 | Billy Hamilton, CF | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | KC 3, CLE 1 | Jason Hammel (W,1-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | BAL 4, CHW 2 | Gabriel Ynoa (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | PIT 4, MIL 0 | Wade LeBlanc (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.1 | `WSH 4, PHI 2 | Enny Romero (H,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | LAD 8, SD 2 | Cody Bellinger, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | DET 7, OAK 2 | Michael Fulmer (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 4.0 | `NYY 3, CHC 2 | Michael Pineda | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 7, LAA 6 (F/10) | Brian McCann, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 8, MIA 7 | T.J. Rivera, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 4, BOS 3 | Joe Mauer, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `TEX 3, SEA 1 (F/13) | Tony Barnette | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | ari nl | 3.7 | 8.2 | 39.6 | 43.6 | -0.8 |
| Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 59.6 | 59.6 | 3.7 |
| Pineda, Michael 2841 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 | 9.0 | 25.4 | 37.1 | -3.0 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 2.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 | -10.7 |
| Morales, Kendrys 2142 | dh | tor al | 2.0 | 10.5 | 25.2 | 41.2 | -6.5 |
| LeBlanc, Wade 2669 | pi cp mr sp | pit nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 12.0 | -1.0 |
| Bellinger, Cody 3781 | lf 1b | lad nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | kc al | 1.0 | 14.0 | 45.1 | 60.2 | -12.0 |
| McCann, Brian 2179 | ca | hou al | 1.0 | 4.2 | 30.2 | 59.4 | -2.2 |
| Hamilton, Billy 3287 | cf | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | -1.0 |
| Barnette, Tony 3670 | pi mr | tex al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Mauer, Joe 1869 | 1b | min al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 24.0 | 71.6 | -0.5 |
| Rivera, T.J. 3710 | 1b | nym nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Romero, Enny 3726 | pi mr | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Ynoa, Gabriel 3743 | pi mr | bal al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
Box-Toppers projects Nationals to edge Dodgers in NL, Red Sox to beat Indians in the AL. World champion Cubs remain strong but return trip to World Series is not projected.
Read More
Los Angeles Dodgers edge out Washington Nationals as Box-Toppers' top preseason team. Champion Cubs slip to 5th after key player losses. Indians rank 1st among AL teams.
Read More3 of 4 major postseason award winners are among Box-Toppers top-ranked pitchers or batters on their teams. The exception: AL Cy Young Rick Porcello, who ranks 6th among Red Sox players.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads the list of the top 100 players for 2016 with 25.7 Box-Toppers points, the 20th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
Read More
Chicago Cubs seem likely to end their 108-year World Series drought, holding Box-Toppers-point edges in most categories, but the Cleveland Indians have been resilient when outmatched this postseason.
Read MoreCubs rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings, its four starters rank among the top 10 NL pitchers, they have Kris Bryant. Dodgers have Kershaw who they needed for each NLDS win.
Read More
Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 20.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 10 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
Also Monday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, edged within 1.0 Box-Toppers point of season leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Estrada pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing one hit and three walks, in the 3-2 win over the Mariners.
Estrada earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 43rd player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 43rd among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck out seven over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Giants. Kershaw did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited the Dodgers trailed 1-0, before scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win.
Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 22.7 for the season, maintaining his spot in second place among all players and among NL pitchers. He moves within 1.0 Box-Toppers point of overall leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7). Scherzer assumed the lead on Aug. 25. Previously, Kershaw led from May 7.
Madison Bumgarner, who started the game for the Giants, was in line to win Player of the Game (and overall Player of the Day) until the Dodgers made their ninth-inning comeback. Bumgarner (7IP H 0R 0BB 10K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of +16.0 (Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0). But because the bullpen blew the lead and the Giants lost, Bumgarner earns no Box-Toppers points, despite the impressive performance.
Bumgarner has 13.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 18th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Kershaw now has 182.0 career Box-Toppers points, seventh-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails sixth-ranked player Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.0) by just 0.3 points. He trails fifth-ranked player (and active career pitching leader) CC Sabathia of the Yankees (184.0) by just 2.0 points. (See the updated list of the top 20 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 on the home page.)
National League Batter of the Day—Freddie Freeman of the Braves homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Elvis Andrus of the Rangers homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice, in the 3-2 win over the Angels.
Notable—Two other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points also earned Player of the Game honors Monday:
Porcello—Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello earned Player of the Game honors Monday while also picking up his Major League-leading 21st win.
Porcello (CG 4H 2R 0BB 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, but still has just 8.0 points for the season. Despite ranking first in wins, he ranks 76th among all players in Box-Toppers points, 26th among AL pitchers. (More on Porcello here: Why does wins leader Rick Porcello have so few Box-Toppers points?)
Porcello had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +8.0, his highest game score during any of his 21 wins. But it still wasn’t enough to earn him his first overall or league Player of the Day honor of the season (he lost Player of the Day Monday to Marco Estrada of the Blue Jays who had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0). So Porcello still hasn’t earned any Box-Toppers bonus points this season in the eight times he earned Player of the Game honors.
This was also Porcello’s first Player of the Game honor in a month. He last earned Player of the Game on Aug. 19, even though he has earned the win in three more games since then.
Scoring—Estrada earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kershaw earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Freeman and Andrus each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/19 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | TOR 3, SEA 2 | Marco Estrada (W,9-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | BOS 5, BAL 2 | Rick Porcello (W,21-4) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | `LAD 2, SF 1 | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | ATL 7, NYM 3 | Freddie Freeman, 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CHC 5, CIN 2 | Jason Hammel (W,15-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | STL 5, COL 3 | Carlos Martinez, P | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SD 3, ARI 2 | Brandon Maurer (S,11) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 4, OAK 2 | Ken Giles (S,12) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | TEX 3, LAA 2 | Elvis Andrus, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | KC 8, CHW 3 | Kendrys Morales, DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | MIA 4, WSH 3 | Giancarlo Stanton, RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 | 48.4 | 148.5 | 182.0 | -3.0 |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.0 | 22.7 | 46.1 | 59.2 | 3.3 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 | 24.4 | 25.4 | 25.4 | -3.0 |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 10.0 | 18.0 | 42.1 | 42.1 | 2.0 |
| Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 9.2 | 9.2 | 16.7 | 19.7 | 9.2 |
| Porcello, Rick 2573 | pi sp | bos al | 8.0 | 12.0 | 33.7 | 42.7 | 4.0 |
| Morales, Kendrys 2142 | dh | kc al | 7.5 | 12.2 | 22.2 | 38.2 | 2.8 |
| Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 7.5 | 10.5 | 38.7 | 38.7 | 4.5 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 6.5 | 12.0 | 33.7 | 39.2 | 1.0 |
| Giles, Ken 3402 | pi cp mr | hou nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 |
| Maurer, Brandon 3157 | pi mr cp | sd nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 |
| 5 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 6 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber extends his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Nolasco pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking none, in the 3-0 win over the Reds.
National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—Rougned Odor of the Rangers hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-1 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Andrew Toles of the Dodgers hit a ninth-inning, go-ahead grand slam in the 10-8 win over the Rockies. Toles also doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in five runs.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber extended his season Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Kluber (8IP 6H 3R 2BB 11K W in the 8-4 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.2 for the season, ahead of second-place AL pitcher Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8). Kluber maintains his rank of fourth place among all players. Kluber led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 25.8.
Notable—Two other players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points this season also earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:
Verlander now has 134.6 career Box-Toppers points, 29th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 28th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (136.5).
Scoring—Nolasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Garza earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Odor and Toles each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/31 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | LAA 3, CIN 0 | Ricky Nolasco (W,5-12) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 9.0 | `DET 3, CHW 2 | Justin Verlander | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | MIL 3, STL 1 | Matt Garza (W,5-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| 7.0 | ATL 8, SD 1 | Matt Wisler (W,6-11) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | TEX 14, SEA 1 | Rougned Odor, 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | LAD 10, COL 8 | Andrew Toles, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | CLE 8, MIN 4 | Corey Kluber (W,15-8) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 5.0 | WSH 2, PHI 1 | Gio Gonzalez (W,10-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.1 | SF 4, ARI 2 | Matt Moore (W,9-10) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | BOS 8, TB 6 | Hanley Ramirez, 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 6, PIT 5 | Jason Hammel (W,14-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | HOU 4, OAK 3 | Michael Feliz (W,8-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `NYY 5, KC 4 (13) | Chasen Shreve | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | COL 7, LAD 0 | Tyler Anderson (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 5, BAL 3 | Michael Saunders, LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 5, MIA 2 | Addison Reed (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 | 31.6 | 62.4 | 62.4 | 4.8 |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 12.0 | 21.7 | 45.1 | 58.2 | 2.3 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 10.0 | 16.4 | 79.6 | 134.6 | 3.6 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | sf nl | 8.7 | 8.7 | 34.2 | 34.2 | 8.7 |
| Nolasco, Ricky 2125 | pi sp | ana al | 7.7 | 9.7 | 30.4 | 83.5 | 5.7 |
| Ramirez, Hanley 2119 | 1b | bos al | 6.0 | 6.0 | 28.7 | 56.6 | 6.0 |
| Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | tex al | 5.5 | 8.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.5 |
| Saunders, Michael 2768 | lf | tor al | 5.2 | 5.2 | 14.9 | 15.9 | 5.2 |
| Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.0 | 14.7 | 71.8 | 85.5 | -4.7 |
| Wisler, Matt 3522 | pi sp | atl nl | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 |
| Toles, Andrew 3692 | rf lf cf ph | lad nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Feliz, Michael 3632 | pi cp mr | hou al | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Garza, Matt 2343 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.7 | 4.4 | 34.1 | 70.8 | 1.0 |
| Reed, Addison 3023 | pi mr | nym nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 1.0 |
| Anderson, Tyler 3656 | pi sp | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Shreve, Chasen 3482 | pi mr | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 5 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 6 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.0 |
Also Friday, Kris Bryant of the Cubs extended his lead in season Box-Toppers points among National League batters after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—Verlander struck out eight over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Angels.
Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 133.6 career points, rising to 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 28th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (136.5). Verlander has 9.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 15th among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Luke Weaver allowed one run over six innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits and two walks, in the 14-4 win over the Athletics.
This was Weaver’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Weaver made his Major League debut Aug. 13 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,719th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 15-8 win over the Twins.
Smoak and Gary Sanchez of the Yankees (Player of the Game in the 14-4 win over the Orioles) both had Box-Toppers game scores of +5.0 Friday, but Smoak holds the tiebreaker to earn AL Batter of the Day honors because he had more RBIs than Sanchez—5 vs. 4.
National League Batter of the Day—Kris Bryant of the Cubs hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 6-4, 10-inning win over the Dodgers.
Bryant earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season, extending his lead among NL batters—second place NL batter is Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals (8.5).
Bryant becomes the 31st player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points, the fourth batter and the first NL batter. He is the sixth Cubs player to reach 10 points in 2016 (The others: Jon Lester—15.4, Jake Arrieta—13.7, John Lackey—12.4, Jason Hammel—11.0, Kyle Hendricks—10.7). He ranks 26th among all players in season player rankings. It is Bryant’s first 10-point season; in his rookie season of 2015, he had 8.5 points.
Streak—Rickie Weeks of the Diamondbacks has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game of the season Friday.
Weeks (HR 3B 2-3 2R BI in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Reds) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2005 with the Brewers and has 37.1 career points, third among active NL second basemen. His best season was 2007 with the Brewers when he had 6.2 Box-Toppers points. In 2015, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Mariners.
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Weaver earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Smoak and Bryant each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/26 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.2 | DET 4, LAA 2 | Justin Verlander (W,14-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | TOR 15, MIN 8 | Justin Smoak, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | NYY 14, BAL 4 | Gary Sanchez, C | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| NL | 5.0 | STL 3, OAK 1 | Luke Weaver (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 4.2 | SEA 3, CHW 1 | Edwin Diaz (S,11) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | CLE 12, TEX 1 | Abraham Almonte, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | CHC 6, LAD 4 (10) | Kris Bryant, 3B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | NYM 9, PHI 4 | Asdrubal Cabrera, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SF 7, ATL 0 | Jeff Samardzija (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | MIA 7, SD 6 | Fernando Rodney (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | KC 6, BOS 3 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 5, MIL 3 | Jordy Mercer, SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ARI 4, CIN 3 (11) | Rickie Weeks, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | WSH 8, COL 5 | Daniel Murphy, 2B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | HOU 5, TB 4 | Evan Gattis, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Bryant, Kris 3465 | lf 3b rf | chi nl | 10.5 | 19.0 | 19.0 | 19.0 | 2.0 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 9.0 | 15.4 | 78.6 | 133.6 | 2.6 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 7.5 | 9.0 | 31.0 | 32.5 | 6.0 |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 6.7 | 16.1 | 44.8 | 45.8 | -2.7 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 6.0 | 15.0 | 28.5 | 28.5 | -3.0 |
| Rodney, Fernando 1803 | pi cp | fla nl | 5.0 | 6.0 | 23.0 | 35.0 | 4.0 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | tor al | 3.5 | 8.5 | 18.4 | 22.9 | -1.5 |
| Gattis, Evan 3179 | ca | hou al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -1.0 |
| Mercer, Jordy 3206 | ss | pit nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 |
| Sanchez, Gary 3701 | dh ca | nyy al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | ss | nym nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 26.7 | 42.7 | -1.0 |
| Almonte, Abraham 3554 | rf ph | cle al | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0.5 |
| Weaver, Luke 3719 | pi sp | stl nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Weeks, Rickie 2035 | lf 2b | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 17.9 | 37.1 | 0.0 |
Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 18.7 |
| 3 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 4 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 14.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 8 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 |
| 9 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 12.7 |
| 10 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 12.5 |
Also Tuesday, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Hammel pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits and three walks, in the 4-1 win over the Brewers.
Hammel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season, becoming the 23rd player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. Hammel ranks 17th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez pitched four scoreless innings, allowing no hits, walking two and striking out seven, in the 5-3 win over the Orioles. Rodriguez did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he did not pitch the requisite five innings to earn the win, exiting the game with an injury.
National League Batter of the Day—DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies homered, tripled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 6-2 win over the Nationals.
American League Batter of the Day—Luke Maile of the Rays doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 15-1 win over the Padres.
This was Maile’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Maile made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2015, and was playing in his 35th career game. He is the 3,709th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Kluber (6IP 7H R 2BB 7K W in the 3-1 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.2 for the season. He extends his lead among AL pitchers ahead of second-place Cole Hamels of the Rangers (14.1).
Notable—Royals pitcher Danny Duffy becomes the 24th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Duffy (7.2IP 3H R 2BB 5K W in the 6-1 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. Duffy ranks 19th among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.
Streak—Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2016 on Tuesday.
Tulowitzki (HR 4-5 2R 2BI in the 12-6 win over the Yankees) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2007 with the Rockies and has 59.8 career points, 15th among active AL batters and first among active AL shortstops. His best year was 2014 with the Rockies, when he had 11.6 Box-Toppers points, the season leader among NL batters. In 2015, he had 6.0 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies and the Blue Jays.
Debut—In addition to Maile, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, with their first career Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Hammel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodriguez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. LeMahieu and Maile each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/16 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | CHC 4, MIL 1 | Jason Hammel (W,13-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| AL | 9.0 | `BOS 5, BAL 3 | Eduardo Rodriguez | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 7.0 | MIN 4, ATL 2 | Ervin Santana (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | LAD 15, PHI 5 | Kenta Maeda (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 5.2 | KC 6, DET 1 | Danny Duffy (W,10-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | COL 6, WSH 2 | DJ LeMahieu, 2B | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | TB 15, SD 1 | Luke Maile, C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CHC 4, MIL 0 | Trevor Cahill (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `TEX 5, OAK 4 (10) | Alex Claudio | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 12, NYY 6 | Troy Tulowitzki, SS | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CIN 6, MIA 3 | Tucker Barnhart, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | STL 8, HOU 5 | Seung Hwan Oh (S,12) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 7, ARI 5 | T.J. Rivera, 3B-2B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CLE 3, CHW 1 | Corey Kluber (W,13-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 1.0 | LAA 7, SEA 6 | Jett Bandy, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | PIT 4, SF 3 | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 | 30.6 | 61.4 | 61.4 | 3.8 |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 11.0 | 20.7 | 44.1 | 57.2 | 1.3 |
| Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp | kc al | 10.7 | 14.7 | 29.7 | 29.7 | 6.7 |
| LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | col nl | 7.0 | 14.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | cf | pit nl | 4.5 | 15.0 | 45.7 | 51.4 | -6.0 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 4.0 | 9.4 | 47.8 | 97.3 | -1.4 |
| Oh, Seung Hwan 3693 | pi cp | stl nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | -3.3 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi mr sp | chi nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 26.1 | 39.2 | 1.0 |
| Maile, Luke 3709 | ca | tb al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 | ss | tor al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 39.1 | 59.8 | -5.0 |
| Barnhart, Tucker 3519 | ca | cin nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Claudio, Alex 3459 | pi mr | tex al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Bandy, Jett 3711 | ca | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Rivera, T.J. 3710 | 3b 2b | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Cubs expand narrow lead over 2nd-place Dodgers. Red Sox top AL teams.
Read More
Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 14.5 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 14.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 8 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 12.4 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.0 |
Bundy pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out seven, in the 5-1 win over the Rangers.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 7-1 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Maikel Franco of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 13-8 win over the Giants.
American League Batter of the Day—Max Kepler of the Twins homered and went 1-for-2, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-6 win over the Indians.
Tuesday was the second straight day Kepler earned AL Batter of the Day honors and the third time he’s done it in less than a week. In other words, he’s earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points in that span (1.5 points for each AL Batter of the Day honor) on July 28, Aug. 1 and Aug. 2. Kepler has 6.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, 14th among AL batters.
Notable—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rises to 25th among all players in career Box-Toppers points (since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Cabrera (HR 2B 3-5 2R 3BI in the 11-5 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 140.9 career points, passing Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (140.3) on the “all-time” list. Cabrera now trails 24th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8).
Cabrera and Hamels have been passing each other in the career points list recently and with Tuesday’s honor, Cabrera again regains the 10th-place spot in career points among active players.
This was the second time in three days Cabrera has earned Player of the Game honors—he was AL Batter of the Day Sunday. Cabrera has 8.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, rising to fourth among AL batters.
Also notable—Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel is the season’s highest-ranked player among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Hammel (6IP 4H 0R 2BB 3K W in the 3-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks 33rd among all players and 17th among NL pitchers.
Hammel and another of Tuesday’s top players, Miguel Cabrera, both have 8.0 Box-Toppers points but Hammel ranks higher because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2015—9.7 vs. 4.7. Cabrera ranks 35th among all players.
Scoring—Bundy earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and deGrom earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Franco and Kepler each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/2 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | BAL 5, TEX 1 | Dylan Bundy (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| NL | 10.0 | NYM 7, NYY 1 | Jacob deGrom (W,7-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | PHI 13, SF 8 | Maikel Franco, 3B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | COL 7, LAD 3 | Jon Gray (W,8-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | MIN 10, CLE 6 | Max Kepler, RF | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | TOR 2, HOU 1 | R.A. Dickey (W,8-12) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | LAA 5, OAK 4 | Cam Bedrosian (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | DET 11, CHW 5 | Miguel Cabrera, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CIN 7, STL 5 | Joey Votto, 1B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 3, MIA 2 | Jason Hammel (W,11-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 5, BOS 4 | Edwin Diaz (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 3, SD 2 | Tyler Thornburg (S,3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.1 | KC 3, TB 2 | Chris Young (W,3-8) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | WSH 10, ARI 4 | Jayson Werth, LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | PIT 5, ATL 3 | Tony Watson (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.0 | 17.7 | 41.1 | 54.2 | -1.7 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 8.0 | 12.7 | 61.3 | 140.9 | 3.3 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.7 | 30.1 | 43.1 | 43.1 | -14.7 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 6.5 | 11.5 | 28.2 | 60.2 | 1.5 |
| Kepler, Max 3664 | rf | min al | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | tor al | 6.0 | 11.0 | 55.2 | 76.9 | 1.0 |
| Young, Chris R. 1933 | pi sp mr | kc al | 4.7 | 12.7 | 28.8 | 78.8 | -3.3 |
| Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp mr | bal al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | col nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Bedrosian, Cam 3694 | pi cp mr | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Franco, Maikel 3510 | 3b | phi nl | 2.5 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -0.7 |
| Werth, Jayson 1664 | lf | dc nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 19.0 | 46.2 | -1.0 |
| Watson, Tony 3215 | pi mr cp | pit nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
| Thornburg, Tyler 3195 | pi mr cp | mil nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi mr cp | sea al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
A look at Box-Toppers 100 top-ranked players for 2016 at the All-Star break. Blue Jays and top-ranked Cubs have most representatives on the list.
Read MoreCubs hot week fueled by starters & acquisitions. Rangers pass Red Sox to top AL team rankings.
Read MoreBox-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.